


Cuts And Scars

by Midnightdragon2



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: ... Maybe A Bit More Than Minor Injuries, Dumbass Runaan, Fluff, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I started at 8pm, I'm Bad At Tagging, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Injuries, No Beta We Die Like Sleep Deprived Dumbasses, Runaan Is Bad At Health, Seriously this was posted at 4am, Soft Husbands, bit of blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:15:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26437057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Midnightdragon2/pseuds/Midnightdragon2
Summary: Glancing over, he saw Runaan leaning heavily against a tree, glaring at a healer while holding a hand to his side. A single, noticeable cut ran over his upper chest, just underneath his arm, bleeding and turning the right side of his uniform red. The gash had cut open the fabric there, revealing the wound and a bit of skin, another- smaller and definitely less deep- cut ran over his shoulder, but neither compared to the wound Runaan was covering with his hand. Though Ethari couldn't see the actual wound, he could tell the fabric was torn and stained red, and that Runaan's hand was also covered in blood. A lot of it. "He's hurt. Badly. The healer needs to take him in, you'll only want to make him stay more."Or:How Runaan got his side scars.
Relationships: Ethari/Runaan (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 74





	Cuts And Scars

**Author's Note:**

> So I joined a livestream for an artist known as TheNerdyAlchemist and while there everyone gave me the brilliant idea of writing a one shot of how Runaan got his side scars. I, of course, jumped on the opportunity and here we are.

The last few hours had occurred in a blur. 

Ethari remembered sitting at the side of the fountain, watching the six soulflowers float above he water, the crystals still lit up with the light of each assassin they were paired to. He dipped his hand into the water idly, wanting nothing more than to scoop up the one belonging to his husband and hold it close to his chest, but he knew he couldn't. Once the flowers left the water they would no longer work, and Ethari would have no way to check on the status of his husband's life. So he sighed and opted to wait. 

Not that he had to wait long for Runaan's return. 

The first sign that something was wrong came from the shouting. Ethari couldn't hear the words, but it was shouting nonetheless. The silvergrove was often a quiet place, any loud noises were noticed quickly and of course Ethari did. Then he heard a familiar, distinct voice. Not Runaan's but Callisto's. Runaan's second in command.

They were back. 

He shot up, all but darting down the pathways to the Silvergrove's main entrance. People were swarming, chatting among themselves. Seeing over them all was near impossible for Ethari to do, forcing him to push past everyone in an attempt to get to the front. He knew Runaan was alive, all of the assassins who went on that mission were. He would have been the first to know if any died, he had been watching the soul flowers since the night they left after all. Still, his heart constricted when he got to the front, and couldn't locate Runaan anywhere, no matter how he scanned the other five already coming through the entrance. Skor looked beat up, with a nasty cut on his cheek but the others looked fine. He nearly walked up, wanted to pull Andromeda or Akiri aside and ask where Runaan went, but he was stopped by the yelling again. To his right. Glancing over, he saw Runaan leaning heavily against a tree, glaring at a healer while holding a hand to his side. A single, noticeable cut ran over his upper chest, just under his arm, bleeding and turning the right side of his uniform red. The gash had cut open the fabric there, revealing the wound and a bit of skin, another- smaller and definitely less deep- cut ran over his shoulder, but neither compared to the wound Runaan was covering with his hand. Though Ethari couldn't see the actual wound, he could tell the fabric was torn and stained red, and that Runaan's hand was also covered in blood. A lot of it.

Ethari quickly stepped forward, but Callisto was there in an instant. "He can't have a distraction right now." The short haired assassin said simply. "He's hurt. Badly. The healer needs to take him in, you'll only want to make him stay more." 

Ethari could have argued, he could easily push past Callisto but he didn't instead watching with his own jolt of worry when Runaan shifted his standing position, only to grimace and lean back against the tree. Still, the assassin leader was known for his stubbornness. 

"I said I'm fine." Runaan insisted quietly, even as he lifted his hand to look, then immediately hiss and look away when he saw his glove was covered in the red substance. "I can make it home-"

"Absolutely not." The healer cut him off pretty quickly, moving to wrap Runaan's free arm around her shoulder and walk him back to the healer's hut. Ethari saw with instant worry how the assassin didn't put up a struggle or try to get away, just wincing and giving another hiss as soon as he was moved. He let her walk him the short walk. Only when they entered the doorway did Ethari realize Callisto had let go. How long, Ethari wasn't sure, but when he glanced back to Callisto to make sure it was okay- of course it was okay, Runaan was his _husband_ \- Callisto gave a nod and a 'go ahead' gesture. 

Ethari ran to the healer's hut- though it wasn't a hut so much as a large, long house with multiple rooms and healers on hand to help anyone with just about any injury one could get- just in time to see Runaan disappear into one of the rooms. He made a move to follow, but one of the healers stopped him. "Sorry, Ethari, we can't have you going in yet." She said quietly, glancing at the doorway Ethari was looking at. She went to explain when he didn't look away. "He's clearly lost a lot of blood- we're not sure how long he's been bleeding like he is but it needs to be properly cleaned and bandaged before we can let you go in. I promise you, though, I'll let you know as soon as you're allowed to see him." 

Finally, Ethari allowed himself to be guided to sit down. 

Minutes passed like hours, with Ethari fiddling uncomfortably with his copy of the moon opal necklace. He glanced at the window, frowning when he noticed it was already getting dark, then sighed miserably and settled to wait longer.

Around the hour mark, Ethari heard footsteps coming toward him. His ears lifted. He looked up quickly with a rush of a excitement and relief when he saw the healer coming toward him with a smile. However, her smile faltered when she looked behind him, and his did too once he saw what she was looking at. Or who, really. 

"Zaaren." She greeted quietly and with a respectful nod as the older elf stepped forward. Zaaren was in charge of all assassin afairs, including debriefings after missions. Runaan complained about him a lot, but the old elf had a lot of respect still. 

Still, respect or not, Ethari wanted to curse Zaaren's few remaining hairs out when he was allowed in first. 

He settled to glowering at the door from his seat. 

An hour passed. Then another. At three hours, Ethari stood up, ready to charge in and kick Zaaren out himself so he could spend time with his injured husband. He took one step forward, then stopped short of another one as Zaaren retreated from Runaan's room with a displeased but polite farewell and finally, _finally_ , Ethari was given the go ahead by the healer girl.

He darted down the hall, then into the room with a happy smile and a preparation to talk Runaan's ear off, before he froze at the door in surprise as soon as he saw Runaan. 

The assassin laid on the bed with a number of pillows at his back, propping him up. His hair was let loose from the braid, instead pulled into a loose, hastily done bun. The small cut on his arm had a gauze pad over it, tied down with a lose string. His torso, however, was almost completely covered in bandages. Only the the left side of his upper chest was left uncovered, revealing the markings Ethari had carefully painted there only a week and a half ago but nothing else. 

Runaan didn't look up from where he was messing with the gauze on his arm, instead saying with a hint of annoyance as soon as Ethari stopped "I already told you, Zaaren, I don't know how they knew we were-" Ethari cleared his throat quietly, cutting Runaan off. Then as soon as Runaan looked over, the assassin's eyes went wide before softening, and the annoyance faded quickly enough. "Oh. Hey."

Ethari was still frozen, even after he was noticed. Instead, he stared for a moment longer before his throat constricted and tears welled. Before he was even thinking, he rushed forward, pulling Runaan into a tight hug. The assassin was clearly surprised, but relaxed and returned it, readjusting where Ethari's arms were while Ethari broke down into tears and hiccups. Ugly crying. But he refused to let go, even as he heard Runaan give quiet "It's alright, I'm okay now'''s and "Okay, let it out"'s and he felt a thumb over his cheek, tracing the markings on that side of his face while simultaneously brushing away falling tears. 

By the time Ethari had settled down to hiccups and whimpers, Runaan's gentle reassurances were reinforcement "There we go, back to normal"'s and other similar words. Finally, he managed to speak. It was shaky, but he said still- looking up with very watery eyes as he did- "I... didn't see you at first, then Callisto told me to not bother you... I waited for hours to see you-" 

He was caught off guard by a kiss to the cheek, his tears stopping almost immediately. He looked at Runaan, who offered a small smile back. "It's alright. I'm okay, I promise. Though I might not be if you keep your death grip going." 

Ethari let go immediately. Had he really been hugging that hard? "Uh- sorry. I'm just worried." Runaan nodded but said nothing, only grimacing when he had to readjust his sitting position. Ethari watched, wanting to help but not being sure now. Then finally Runaan settled and Ethari asked slowly "What happened?"

There was silence for a moment, before Runaan sighed and idly brushed a hand over Ethari's shoulder while beginning to explain. "On the night of the full moon, we went in after a target responsible for not only elven death but human death as well. We made our way through the corridors like usual, keeping to the shadows while the moon gave us the nearly invisible form. But somehow they knew we were coming. Guards blocked the door to the target's bedroom. The others occupied the guards while I slipped past, but the target had a weapon. He didn't know how to use it, or he was too panicked to use it correctly but he swung wildly. Got me multiple times before I managed to knock the battle-ax from his hand and ended it."

Ethari frowned as soon as he heard the story, staring at Runaan before looking down at the wounds. The full moon was three nights ago. He didn't know how to respond at first, until anger welled in his chest. Hot, heavy, and very, _very_ concerned "You went three days without sharing your injuries to anyone in your team _and_ without treating it?"

Runaan had frozen too, now. He ears twitched. He almost seemed to shrink on himself as soon as he heard Ethari's tone. "... Yes." 

"You ignored not one, but _three_ serious wounds for three days!" There was one thing to say about Ethari that no one knew better than the craftsmith's family: He didn't get mad often, but when it struck it wasn't something to ignore. And right now? He was _mad_. "I was worried! I saw it when you came back- that was extremely serious and you-"

"It wasn't as bad at the time-" Runaan began but Ethari cut him off immediately. 

"It was _bad_ , Runaan. You could have bled out. According to the healers, you were close to going unconscious. You could have died!" 

Runaan sat up, only to hiss loudly as soon as he made the sudden movement. Still he managed to respond. "We didn't have time to stop and deal with it! We had to get home!"

There was a moment of silence again, both staring at each other intensely, before Ethari scoffed and turned to leave, refusing to wait for the anger fell away and turn to tears once again. Apparently it dawned on Runaan quickly that Ethari wasn't going to stick around. 

"Wait, where are you going?" He asked, but Ethari didn't turn around. Instead the craftsmith spoke over his shoulder without looking back:

"Home." 

With that he left the room, left the building, and left Runaan alone.

\-----

The moonlight shone gently on the clear water of the fountain, as well as on the silver of the soulflowers and the white of the fountain, lighting the entire area up with an ethereal glow. Most would call it pretty. Ethari was used to it at this point. 

Like most nights without Runaan, Ethari had tried to go to bed early but of course that never worked. He always had a hard time sleeping alone even before he got married but now that sleeping and waking up next to Runaan was so normal, any sleep was nearly impossible without the assassin around. It was especially jarring when Runaan was gone on assignments. Ethari would often come out here and watch the soulflowers float until dawn the next morning or until he inevitably fell asleep beside the fountain after days of no sleep. He was always so tired when Runaan was gone. But what was one more night of no sleep? Runaan deserved it. How could he have completely ignored a series of wounds for three days? 

He gave a huff, sitting on his knees in front of the fountain, then setting an arm down across the fountain's side and resting his head on said arm. His other hand dipped into the water, drawing invisible swirls into the water while watching the flowers bob on the water's surface. He'd have to remove them tomorrow. Only the ones that sunk remained in the water, the floating ones were removed once the assassins returned home. 

"You know, they say the fountain is filled with the tears of the fallen's loved ones." Ethari jolted as soon as he heard Runaan behind him, but as shocked as he was, he didn't turn around, staring straight ahead at the fountain even as Runaan continued. "I wouldn't stick my hand in tears if I were you." Ethari looked the opposite way once Runaan approached and took a seat. Runaan was quiet, before he released a breath and spoke again. "I'm sorry for not paying attention to the injuries earlier, and for making you worry. At the time I thought I was being a good leader but I can tell now that I was just being a horrible idiot and an even worse husband."

Ethari felt a hand on his shoulder, but he quickly shrugged it off. Runaan actually huffed. 

"I'm not asking for forgiveness, but will you at least look at me? I haven't seen you in a week and the first time I have seen you you were crying, then upset. I hate it when you're upset. Especially if you won't let me make it right." 

Ethari turned away again when Runaan leaned close, not wanting to give in just yet despite how quickly his resolve was slipping. "Why are you here, Runaan?" He asked simply, sitting up finally, finally looking at the assassin.

Confusion flashed in the assassin's eyes, before he answered with an unsure expression "Apologizing?"

"No, no. What are you doing _here_? You're supposed to be in the healer's hut-" He froze, looking at Runaan's now nervous smile, before his own grew but not before he managed a threatening tone. "Runaan?" 

"In my defense," Runaan started, "They put me in a room with an open window. How could they expect me to not leave?"

Ethari rubbed his temples, with a laugh, though he tried to disguise it as an exasperated sigh instead. "It's so you can feel the air, not so you can sneak out."

"Well they never clarified." Runaan shrugged. 

Now Ethari couldn't hide the laugh, instead giving in and looking at Runaan with less anger than before. "How did I end up marrying the smartest idiot in the silvergrove?" He asked dramtically. 

Runaan chuckled, then pulled Ethari into a kiss, a kiss the craftsmith immediately melted into after a week of deprivation. When it finally broke, Runaan hummed. "Because you love me." He answered finally, then stood- though with minor difficulty- and offered to help Ethari up. Help Ethari took without much prompting despite Runaan obviously being the one that would need help up in the future. "Anyway, how about for tonight we forget about my foolishness and instead go to bed." 

Ethari gave a look, but nodded slowly. "Fine, but tomorrow you're going back to the healer's hut until they clear you to leave." 

"Deal."


End file.
